1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a managing method for ordering a composite apparatus formed by composing a plurality of units through an ordering apparatus and for managing the ordered composite apparatus; a managing system; a composite apparatus and an ordering apparatus constituting the managing system; and a computer program and a memory product for causing a computer to function as the ordering apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to meet wide needs of customers, the supply of composite apparatuses that are customized according to the needs of the customers, such as a composite machine made up of a suitable composition of a copying machine, a facsimile machine (hereinafter referred to as the “FAX machine”), a printer, etc. and a personal computer to which a plurality of options are added, is on the increase. In the case of a composite apparatus of a copying machine, for example, a coping machine as a base unit is composed with a number of units, such as a monochrome scanner, a color scanner, a FAX modem, an extension memory and a staple finisher, according to the need of a customer, and an order is made.
A conventional ordering system for such a composite apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-151229 (1993). Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-151229 (1993) discloses a system for automatically creating a product structure by presenting units to a user with the use of a computer and requesting the user to select presented units. Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 5-23288 (1993) and 11-272955 (1999) disclose a portable terminal used for ordering a product and an ordered contents output apparatus that present a list of selections of products to a user and output the ordered contents in accordance with the contents selected by the user.
However, the conventional systems were designed for use before the ordering stage, and have problems that they do not consider the management of composite apparatuses after the ordering stage, such as the subsequent shipment, setup, maintenance and addition of a unit. In recent years, the number of units to be composed is increasing and the composition thereof also increases exponentially. Therefore, there is a fear that the ordered composite apparatus is composited wrongly in the shipment from a factory, the setup in a shipping destination or other occasion, resulting in a problem that it is difficult to sufficiently manage a complicated composite apparatus.
Furthermore, although composite apparatuses of a copying machine, etc. need maintenance after the setup and wide support for an addition or change of a unit, the conventional systems have a problem that they can not meet such a demand sufficiently.